The tumultuous US$44-billion Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) takeover deal is ending in a same fashion–a tumultuous takeover.
Elon Musk acquired control of the social media platform late Thursday after his acquisition bid was completed, the Washington Post reports according to people familiar with the matter.
His first order of business? Firing the top executives.
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According to the sources, CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, and Vijaya Gadde, head of legal policy, trust, and safety, were all sacked. Sean Edgett, the company’s general counsel, was also let go.
The move signals the drastic changes Musk intends to implement in the company, including downsizing the workforce to achieve “maximum potential”, eliminating bot accounts, and maximizing revenue streams. He has publicly chastised Twitter’s departing leadership on product decisions and content filtering.
Before the recent development, the billionaire and the Twitter board are locked in a contentious court battle as Musk tried to renege the deal twice. Recently, the Tesla chief made a 180o and decided to go back to the original deal in a bid to drop the lawsuit.
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READ: No, Elon Musk Can’t Just Pay $1.0 Billion To Walk Away From Twitter Deal
Musk has publicly said in interviews and in the latest Tesla earnings call that his consortium is already “overpaying” for the Twitter takeover deal. In a response to the query about the deal, he said “I think it’s an asset that has sort of languished for a long time but has enormous potential,” later adding, “the long-term potential for Twitter is an order of magnitude more than its current worth.”
However, in recent days, Musk has appeared resigned, if not excited, about his eventual ownership. According to a photo he sent to his more than 100 million Twitter followers, he unexpectedly showed up at the company’s offices on Wednesday, holding a sink to signify that the message that he would become owner needed to “sink in.”
While the deal has been reportedly closed, it faces further scrutiny as Biden administration officials are debating whether the US government should submit any of Musk’s deals to national security investigations, including the sale for Twitter and SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network.
A suggestion was floated to use the law governing the Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS) in the United States to evaluate Musk’s transactions and businesses for national security implications. The interagency panel reviews acquisitions of US businesses by foreign buyers.
Should it be the case, one Musk deal that could be subjected to this is the Twitter takeover deal. The billionaire’s consortium in acquiring the social media platform includes foreign investors like Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia, Chinese native-run Binance Holdings Ltd., and Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund.
Twitter last traded at US$53.70 on the NYSE, a bit short of the US$54.20 per share deal that Musk offered.
Information for this briefing was found via Washington Post and the sources mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
